Most organization, including offices, businesses or the like, rely on some sort of phone system or private branch exchange (PBX) for communication purposes. One of the main uses for such a system is the management of incoming calls, namely from a public phone system, to individuals or groups within the organization. Another use is the management of calls originating within the organization, and directed to individuals and/or groups. In other words, company phone systems or PBXs, in most cases, manage all the calls to and from an organization, as well as between company employees.
Most of the above-mentioned phone systems are designed such that a specific extension is routed to a fixed line somewhere in the organization. Also, most phone system features are proprietary, in they are built into or configured onto a particular user's phone set. Such a system satisfies the needs of organizations where all users work from their respective desks. However, more and more, organizations are virtual, dynamic and rely on cellular technology when employees are outside the office (i.e. users are mobile, users work remotely with respect to a main business location, users work from their homes, users alternate between an office location and remote locations, users travel, users are mobile within an office space, etc.).
For example, many businesses have employees who work at different locations and at varying time intervals (day and/or night time). Many businesses and such employees rely on cellular technology in order to keep in touch with clients, suppliers and employees back at an office location. At the office, the user has access to the full spectrum of PBX features, such as voicemail, extensions, conference calling and multi-line capabilities. This is not the case, when the user works outside the office and communicates via his/her cellular phone.
Thus, static extensions are limiting to such users and their associated organizations, in that phone system features are tied to a particular phone set on one individual user's desk. Therefore, there is a need to integrate cellular technology and PBX technology, in order for employees to work seamlessly anywhere and at anytime.
Some newer phone systems support the ability to re-route an extension to one's cellular phone or even call a business line and a cellular phone simultaneously—hoping to reach the individual no matter where he/she is. This is an improvement to typical phone systems but does not fully use available cellular and computing technology, in order to offer the full spectrum of possible features, namely multi-line features.
It is foreseeable, given the current trends in telecommunications, that multiple lines and PBX-like features will be available on cellular smart-phones using voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), via a dedicated smart-phone application. However, the cellular data network must be able to handle much more bandwidth than is currently available. More importantly, it must do so consistently, even in times of peak traffic. Furthermore, future multi-line VoIP applications (or “apps”) are likely to require installation on both the caller and receiver devices, given the current trends in smart-phone applications and VoIP.
Known to the Applicant are United States patent applications having publication Nos. US 2006/0030357 A1 (McCONNELL et al.) and US 2006/0160566 A1 (PLAHTE et al.).
US 2006/0030357 discloses an IP PBX system that serves enterprise telephones via a landline IP network connection which is expanded to serve cellular wireless communication devices (WCD). The system provides an IP PBX server. Calls to and from a cellular WCD are connected through the IP PBX system, so that the IP PBX system controls and manages the calls just as the IP PBX would control and manage calls involving other extensions on the IP PBX. The system is used for ringing another IP PBX Extension, sending a call to voicemail, terminating inside calls, ringing the cellular WCD, ringing two or more IP PBX extensions simultaneously, and the like. However, the system does not provide the cellular device with multiline capabilities.
US 2006/0160566 teaches a mobile branch exchange (MBX) allowing a user of a mobile telephone to exploit the functionality of a private branch exchange (PBX) as if the user were using a PBX-connected wire line telephone in an office setting. A server is placed on corporate premises and the server is configured to communicate with corresponding client software programmed into a programmable mobile telephone. The server directly interfaces with the PBX to control call placement and connectivity and operates as an intermediary proxy for the mobile telephone. Features concerning more than one line generally refer to conference call features.
The following documents describe similar PBX systems adapted for cellular phones: U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,395 (LU et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,054 (IMAFUKU et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,119 (VERDONK), U.S. Pat. No. 7,742,768 (LIU et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,876,888 (CHATTERJEE et al.); as well as United States patent applications No. 2002/0009991 (LU et al.), No. 2005/0249147 (FOWLER), No. 2006/0023657 (WOODSON et al.), No. 2007/0206569 (SILVER et al.), No. 2010/0080198 (LI), and No. 2010/0124904 (FORTE). However, the teachings of the above-mentioned documents suffer from drawbacks, as will be apparent in view of the following explanations.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for an improved system which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome some of the above-discussed prior art concerns.